Returning Home
by ThePeacefulLucario
Summary: My first try at fanfic - Ash finally finishes his journey in Unova and is returning home, to his friends. Naturally, he infuriates Misty along the way...AAML  Please review!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

A boy sighed. He looked across the ship that he was on, mentally urging it to go faster. Of course the ship remained at its own pace, as if to mock him, and he settled back down. He smiled to himself. He was finally going back home, after a long journey in many regions. He reminisced on his many journeys and battles, and how little he saw his home since he left at 10. He sadly realized that he wouldn't be able to stay long—he never could. But he let himself forget his troubles as he remembered that in 3 hours, he would be back home in Pallet. 

His Pikachu smiled at him and with a delighted expression showed Ash the ketchup bottle the waiter had given him. "Pika-Chu!" he sighed, contently licking the ketchup bottle.

Ash smiled at his friend and scratched him between his ears. He grinned as he remembered all that they had gone through together—when Ash got Pikachu, going through the Indigo league and the Orange islands, the Johto league, Hoenn, the Battle Frontier, Sinnoh, and lastly Unova. After finally finishing Unova, Ash was going back to Pallet to take a quick break. After that, who knows? He might explore Kanto some more. But first he was eager to get back home and see his friends.

His friends…he sure had a lot of them. Ritchie, Brock, Dawn, Iris, Max Cilan, Cassie, Tracey, and even Gary, his old rival: they, and so many more had helped him. And of course, there was Dawn, May, and…Misty.

Misty…he had traveled with many people, but with Misty the longest, besides Brock. But Brock always left, even if he came back. Misty never left, she stuck with Ash. Maybe it was because she was the only one who hadn't actually wanted to travel with him. He groaned, he still owed her a bike. Whenever he thought about Misty, he realized that the only reason she travelled with him was cause of her bike. Despite everything though, she WAS one of his best friends. He looked at the handkerchief she gave him, and thought how nice it would be to see her again… 

He shook his head vigorously at the thought of her, and remembered that he would be able see both Misty and Brock again when he arrived in Kanto. He once again smiled, and Pikachu, recognizing his master's thoughts happily stated "Pika pika!" _I can't wait! _

Ash smiled, he couldn't wait either. He tilted his cap down to hide his eyes and he remembered some of the friends that he knew he would no longer see or had left behind: Latios, Celebi, Bulbusaur (now a Venasaur), and many other Pokémon. He alternated between places of sadness and happiness while remembering his friends and his Pokémon, vowing that one of the first things he would do is visit Tracey and Professor Oak to see some of his Pokémon.

Ash grinned, he hadn't told anyone he was coming back except Tracey. Tracey, a friend he had travelled with when travelling on the Orange Islands, eagerly accepted the idea. Ash thought, _I can always count on Trace. He was so happy when he got a chance to know something that professor Oak didn't... _ Ash, happily remembering the surprise he was going to give his friends by coming home, drifted off to sleep.

Ash awoke to a siren and looked up in surprise—the boat had arrived. He and Pikachu got up, and Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. Ash seemed rooted to the spot, and Pikachu nervously asked "pika pika?" _Are you okay? _Ash looked down at the ground for a split second more, lifted his head and yelled "Ha-Ha!" and immediately started running off the boat. He stepped foot in Kanto, and happily exclaimed to Pikachu, "Pikachu! We're Home!"


	2. Chapter 1: On the Docks

**Chapter One**

As Ash stepped off the boat, he marveled at how little Pallet had changed. He looked around and laughed at the familiar surroundings. A town with friendly people, lots of small shops, and even more Pokémon. As soon as he stepped off the boat, though, he heard a familiar voice.

"ASH! ASH!"

As Ash looked around to see who had called his name, he was grabbed in a massive bear hug. Both Pikachu and Ash were fairly surprised, and since Pikachu didn't react well to surprises…

"_Pi-ka-CHUUUUUUU!"_

Ash and his mysterious assailant were both shocked and leapt apart from each other. Ash angrily started to ask, "Hey, what's the big idea!" He saw a strangely-familiar looking headband, and shouted "What stunt were you trying…_Tracey?"_

Tracey nervously scratched the back of his head and laughed. "He-he. Sorry about that Ash. It's just good to see you."

Ash, although he hadn't quite gotten over the shock, laughed as well. "Ha-ha! Hey Trace! You look the same as ever! How are you getting along with Professor Oak?" He was interrupted as he noticed a cute blue Pokémon start rubbing his leg. "Oh, hey Marill!" Marill squealed with excitement as Ash bent down and petted it. _Marill Marill!_

"So Trace! How are you doing? How's my mom! How are my Pokémon doing? Have you seen Brock lately? How about Misty? How's Professor Oak and Gary? How are _your _Pokémon doing?" Ash asked in a flurry of questions as he slowly realized how out of touch he was with Kanto. "He-he…Sorry Trace. I guess I just haven't really been keeping up with stuff in Pallet."

Trace laughed. "Don't worry Ash. Gary, the Professor, Brock, your mom, and I are all fine. My Pokémon are doing just great! Your Pokémon are doing great! I bet they'll be happy to see you. Speaking of which, why did you send us all of your Pokémon after Unova?"

Ash remembered now – he had sent his Pokémon back to Oak after Unova. He had only kept Pikachu. "Oh, yeah! That was because I'm planning to catch even more Pokémon in Kanto! Plus, I'm planning to visit my Pidgeot and Charizard!" He unconsciously tilted his cap as he thought about catching more and more Pokémon. Suddenly, Ash realized that Tracey had forgotten to mention someone. "Hey Trace, how's Misty doing?" with the smallest hint of suspicion in his voice.

Tracey quickly put Ash's suspicion to rest, replying "Misty' doing great! I saw her last week, and she's fine. Except…"

Ash asked curiously, "Except what?"

Tracey replied, "Well…except in matches. She's on a 9 match losing streak. She's getting pretty depressed about it."

Ash wondered about this. Misty was one of the best water Pokémon trainers he'd ever seen (not that he would ever tell her that), and he was surprised that she was on that big of a losing streak. Pikachu seemed concerned as well, with a confused _Pika_, tilting his head to the side. Ash quickly remembered that only Tracey knew he was back in Pallet, and happily remembered he was home. Just to make sure though, he asked Tracey "Trace, you didn't tell anyone I was coming back, did you?"

Trace happily replied, "Nope. I can't wait to see the look on Professor Oak's face when he realizes I know something he doesn't!"

Ash laughed. "Ha-ha! Well, what are we waiting for! Let's Go!" Ash started sprinting down to his home, with Pikachu close behind. Tracey looked stunned for a moment, then laughed and quickly followed.

**Author's Note**

Hey Guys! Please review and tell me what i'm doing right and wrong, so I can fix it and work on my strengths!

Thanks to the people who already reviewed!


	3. Chapter 2: An Old Friend

**Chapter Two**

Ash and Tracey walked into Pallet town. Well, Tracey walked. Ash ran, with Pikachu following happy behind. Ash was almost giddy from excitement. "Come on, Trace!" he said, panting. "Hurry up!"

Tracey smiled at his friend. Ash was older, but he still hadn't grown up. Ash laughed, and kept running. As he ran, he recognized familiar faces such as Gary's sister May, and Mr. Mime. "Come on Pikachu! We're almost home!" Pikachu closed its eyes and started running beside Ash. _Pika! _Tracey walked behind, shaking his head with a smile on his facec. "Ash, wait up!" he called, as he started jogging after him.

Ash arrived at his street and kept running. He vaulted his fence with ease, barely noticing that he was able to do that—when he had left home 6 years ago, he couldn't even try to do that without breaking a bone.s Unwilling to wait a second longer, Ash yelled,"MOOOOOOOMM! I'MMM HOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"

Delia Ketchum heard a noise outside of her house and looked outside. Her heart filled when she saw her son, but kept a pretense of uncaring despite her surprise that Ash was home. She ran outside, saying "Oh, you're finally home! I missed you so much…" Ash held out his arms and closed her eyes, barely noticing his mother…running past him and exclaiming, "Pikachu!" scooping up the small yellow Pokémon and hugging it. "Oh, Pikachu, I've missed you so much!" _Pika Pika!_

Ash did a comical flip on the ground as Pikachu squealed with excitement. "Oh come on, Mom! Didn't you miss me at _all!_ I mean I've only been gone for (blah blah blah)_"_Delia smiled at her son as he continued to complain.

Eventually Delia Ketchum started laughing. Unable to keep up the pretense any longer, Delia Ketchum hugged her son tightly. "Oh Ash, you've gotten so big! Why are you back home? How have you been doing? Have you been changing your underwear?"

Ash pulled away slightly at the mention of underwear. "Moooom! I'm 16 years old. You don't have to treat me like a baby anymore…" In a whisper, he said, "and yes, I have been changing my underwear."

Delia smiled at her son. "Well, you must be hungry! Come inside and have something to eat!" Ash shook his head. "I'll come inside in an hour, Mom. There's someone I need to visit first." Delia Ketchum looked at her son quizzically, but decided to let him go on his way. "All right, but if you're not back in an hour, Pikachu and I are going to eat all the cookies ourselves!" Pikachu happily argeed. _Pika Pika!_Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulders and onto Delia's. Ash smiled at his Pikachu.

Ash started walking away from his mother's house, with Tracey quickly catching up. "Hey, Ash! Where are you going?"

Ash replied, "I'm going to see an old friend." With that answer, he tilted his cap slightly down and started jogging forward. "You stay here, Trace, I'll be back in an hour."

Ash started walking on the road outside of Pallet. He happily reminisced about how he and Pikachu had gone down this same road, with a Spearow attacking him. He remembered those moments fondly—meeting Misty, having Pikachu defeat those Spearow, destroying Misty's bike. His smile turned to a groan as he realized he still had to pay for Misty's bike…even though she had got a bike back, she never stopped pestering him about it. Putting those worries aside, however, he realized where he was. He was standing almost exactly where he had thrown a rock at that Spearow. In fact…he could see the very lake in which he had dived into to escape them. He started laughing…this was where he wanted to go. Now he had to find his old friend.

Suddenly a Spearow appeared. He watched it carefully, and then realized he had somehow irked it as it growled at him. He looked behind him and suddenly noticed that there were Spearow following him, and he had accidentally kicked this runt of a Spearow away. Ash simply laughed, and reached for a pokéball…but couldn't find any, as he had given them to Oak. With increasing despair, he remembered he had left Pikachu at his mom's house, and was already surrounded by a group of angry Spearow. He could really use Charizard in a situation like this…

Suddenly the Spearow were attacking him. However, only one even got to scratch him before a large shadow appeared overhead. The Spearow all looked up and screeched as the shadow swooped down. Ash, expecting a Fearow and even more pain, covered his head. When he felt no pain, he looked up and was surprised to see the Spearow that scratched him pinned to the ground by a single, large claw. He looked up and saw his old friend looking at him with concern, as if to check if he was ok. Ash laughed and threw his arms around his old friend's neck.

"Pidgeot! I missed you!" Ash exclaimed as he tightly hugged his old friend.

Author's Note

Sorry about the crappy ending :P Wasn't really sure howto end it...

Please Review you guys! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Sorry about not getting to the AAML soon, but its COMING! Bear with me, because i'm planning on making this a long fanfic, with a lot of side stuff to do.

Peace! Maxpokefan


	4. Chapter 3: Pidgeot

**Chapter 3**

Ash hugged his Pidgeot tightly. Pidgeot closed its eyes and smiled, hugging Ash as well. "Pidgeot! I missed you so much! How are you doing?" Pidgeot ruffled its wings, with a _Pidg-eot_ signaling that it was fine.

Pidgeot lightly stepped back and tilted its back towards Ash. Ash looked at Pidgeot in surprise. "Pidgeot, do you want me to fly with you?" Pidgeot responded affirmatively, stretching its wings to show its powers. _Jeot! _Ash laughed and climbed up on Pidgeot's back. He cried out "Whoa!" as Pidgeot immediately and powerfully took off and started flying throughout the woods. He weakly called out, "Pidgeot, try to slow down a little!" Pidgeot looked back at Ash and nodded, slowing down to a glide over the forest. Ash looked down at the forest in wonder. 

He saw many things he remembered. The lake he and Pikachu had fell into, the place where he had met Misty, bug Pokémon, and lots and lots of…Pidgeots? Ash asked "Pidgeot, did the Pidgeotto and the Pidgey that we saved from that Fearow evolve?" Pidgeot smiled once more, and nodded. Suddenly, Pidgeot went into a dive, diving down to where a large concentration of other Pidgeots were. Ash once again almost fell off, but managed to stay on until Pidgeot landed. 

When Pidgeot landed, Ash immediately saw how much the other Pidgeots respected it. Ash's Pidgeot seemed the center of attention, with young Pidgey gathering up to it. Pidgeot started making some rapid noises towards the other Pidgey, Pidgeottos, and Pidgeots. Many of them didn't seem too happy with what Pidgeot was saying, but they accepted it. Another Pidgeot stepped up to Ash's old Pidgeot, and Ash's Pidgeot nodded at it. Ash curiously wondered what was going on, then looked at his watch and yelped. "Oh no! Its been an hour! I have to get home!"

Pidgeot looked back at Ash, and smirked. Without Ash's consent, Pidgeot used its tail to hop Ash onto its back and immediately took off. It received a warm goodbye from the remaining Pidgeots, with all of them screeching as Ash and Pidgeot left. 

Ash confusedly asked Pidgeot, "Pidgeot? Don't you have to go back to the other Pidgeot and Pidgey?" Pidgeot vehemently shook its head, and screeched _Jeot! _Still confused, Ash asked "Does…does that mean you want to come with me again?" Pidgeot nodded. Ash was taken aback, then laughed. "Alright then Pidgeot, lets go!" Pidgeot started flying faster and Ash was soon back home. 

**Authors Note**

This chapter was supposed to be longer! I'm sorry guys, I just thought that since I didn't update for so long, I needed to put something out there. Again, Pokémon doesn't belong to me and please review—btw sorry for not much details—again, wanted it out there. It'll improve in the summer, I promise!


	5. Chapter 4: Prof Oak's Lab

**Chapter 4**

Delia Ketchum watched her son arrive on his Pidgeot, and she sighed happily. She really was glad to see Ash, especially since he hadn't made contact since the Unova league. Still, she knew her son, and there was something bothering him even if he didn't know it…Keeping up the pretense that she didn't care helped him become more adjusted to staying in Pallet. She almost ran outside to hug him, but remembered not to make Ash feel too awkward and hugged Pidgeot instead. 

"Moooooooom!" Ash complained as he sweat-dropped.

Delia Ketchum looked back at him "I already hugged you!" Pidgeot smiled and screeched _Jeot!_ and ruffled its feathers. Pikachu came outside happily, munching on some Pokémon food. Pikachu looked at Pidgeot and happily yelled _Pikapi!_ and jumped on Pidgeot's back. Pidgeot smiled and started flying over the house, with Pikachu screeching in excitement. _Pika-chu! Jeooot! _Ash laughed, Pikachu and Pidgeot always had a good rapport. Pikachu frequently rode on Pidgeot's back to stop Team Rocket when it was still a Pidgeotto. 

Ash smiled at his two Pokémon playing and noticed that Tracey was still waiting for him, coming out of Ash's house to lean against the wall and immediately start sketching Pidgeot and Pikachu. Suddenly Ash remembered he still hadn't visited Professor Oak, and immediately grabbed Tracey to go. "Come on Trace! We still gotta see Professor Oak!" Trace let himself be dragged to the lab as he kept furiously drawing the two Pokémon playing.

They soon arrived at Professor Oak's lab. Professor Oak was, as usual, hard at work, but Ash decided to jump in and yell "Hi Professor Oak!" 

Professor Oak jumped and clutched his heart as he turned around and saw Ash. "Ash? You gave me quite a scare there, lad. You really shouldn't yell at someone so old." Ash laughed, he knew professor Oak was every bit as young at heart as he was. "So, Ash, what are you doing back in Kanto?" 

Ash replied, "I think I didn't spend enough time catching Pokémon in Kanto the first time, so I came back to see if I could catch even more. Plus, I want to visit some of my old Pokémon and friends."

Professor Oak nodded at this, and started to reply when a purple Pokémon suddenly started to engulf him. "Muk! No!" Ash started laughing, but suddenly he was knocked to the ground by some large Pokémon. He started struggling, and then laughing when he realized who it was. "Bayleef!" The Pokémon smiled at the trainer it had a rather large attachment to, _Bey Bey!_

"Ha-ha! How are you doing Bayleef?" Bayleef responded affirmatively with a _Bey! _"That's Great!" Ash responded. "But…uh, Bayleef?" _Bey?_ "Could you get off me?" Bayleef reluctantly stepped back, and Ash hugged his old friend. Bayleef nuzzled against Ash, just as it had done when it was a Chikorita.

Professor Oak, finally managing to get Muk off him, said, "Your Bayleef has missed you a lot. However, it has started to like me and Tracey…Oh no!" Bayleef suddenly turned around and affectionately tackled Professor Oak and pinned him against a wall, nuzzling against his legs. "He-he. It seems that Bayleef has started to like me as well!"

Ash laughed, and asked Professor Oak "Can I start exploring the field for my other Pokémon Professor Oak? I'm planning to take some with me on my journey." Professor Oak nodded his consent, and Bayleef followed Ash as he walked outside.

**Author's Note**

Short, I know, but I really gotta get back to studying for finals. So guys, I have a difficult decision to make that I really need help with. I need Ash to pick 6 Pokémon that he already HAS, preferably with Professor Oak, to accompany him. So far I'm going to go with Pikachu, Pidgeot, Bulbasaur and Charizard. I do NOT want Ash to pick anyone from Hoenn, Sinnoh, or Unova, so just Kanto and maybe Johto. Here are the possible people that I'm considering: Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, Squirtle, and maaaayyybbee Noctowl. So I really need you guys to help me out and decide which 2 of these 5 I should keep. Please note this in reviews! Also, if you guys want to get rid of either Bulbasaur/Charizard, tell me why and I might consider it.

Jane Hawthorn: Thanks! I really have been working hard on keeping the characters true to their nature.

G-Matt: Will do. Hecka busy with finals right now though, but it'll get better in the summer. 

Turtle: I know, exactly why I brought Pidgeot back. One of my favorite Kanto Pokemon.


	6. Chapter 5: Bayleef and Bulbasaur

**Hey guys, what's up. ThePeacefulLucario here, (I changed my name) and I've decided to go with G-Matt's advice. (Thanks a lot, it makes sense for squirtle and I too love Bayleef) The Pokémon team's going to be Pikachu, Pidgeot, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Bayleef, and Squirtle. It was a really tough decision, since I love Totodile, Noctowl, and Quilava, but regardless, it's the right decision since he's gonna stay in Kanto. I'm FINALLY done with finals so now I might be able to write a long, decent Chapter. I'm out, PEACE.  
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**Chapter 5**

Ash looked down at his Bayleef. "Bayleef, you can stop following me around, you know. Don't you want to play with anyone?" Bayleef shook her head and gently tackled Ash. _Bey, bey! _

__Ash smiled at his old friend, and kept walking. He smiled when he saw his 30 Tauros, and went over and greeted them. They were all happy to see him, but they soon went back to their running.

Ash kept walking around for about an hour, until he had seen and talked to almost all of his Pokémon. After saying goodbye to Sceptile (who coolly turned away), Ash looked a little confused. Bayleef, who had stuck with him all this time, looked curiously at Ash and nudged his leg.

Ash looked around expectantly. "Hey Bayleef, I've seen almost all of my Pokémon, but where's Bulbasaur?"

Bayleef nudged him to look in another direction. There, in between two trees, were two feuding Bellossom. Ash started walking toward them, they appeared to be fighting over an apple. However, he was soon stopped as a mysterious Pokémon used a vine whip to cut the apple in half. Ash smiled, he already knew which Pokémon it would be.

_Bulba-Saur! _the Pokémon cried as he ran to greet his old master and friend. "Ash enthusiastically hugged his old friend. "Hey Bulbasaur! How are you doing?" Bulbasaur looked at his master and contentedly said _Bulba!, _signaling that he was all right.

Ash laughed, and started to play with Bulbasaur. Bayleef looked on happily, occasionally coming to gently head-butt either Ash or Bulbasaur. Just as Ash was about to say goodbye to Bulbasaur, he heard someone approaching, and stood up and turned around. His eyes widened as he recognized the person, then he broke out into a smile. "Gary?"

Gary replied, "Hey, its Ash! How you doing, buddy?" Ash replied "I'm doing fine, how about you?" Ash fondly remembered how at the start of his journey, Gary would have probably called Ash a loser and walked away. His Arcanine affectionately walked up to Ash and licked him, while Ash laughed and petted him.

"So, Ash, why are you back here? Is it cause of Misty?" Gary teased gently. Ash sweat-dropped and started shouting at Gary, "NO, ITS NOT ABOUT MISTY, I'M HERE TO COMPETE IN THE INDIGO LEAGUE AG-"

Gary stopped Ash with a laugh, "I was just joking, Ash. So, are you at Professor Oak's lab to get some of your Pokémon back for Kanto?"

Ash, still a little uncertain, nodded. "Yeah, I'm just not sure which Pokémon I should take…" Immediately after he said this both his Bayleef and his Bulbasaur angrily head-butted him. "Whoa, what's up with you guys?" Ash exclaimed, still pinned down by them both. Bayleef angrily responded _Bey! Bey!,_ motioning at Gary.

Gary looked at Ash's two Pokémon and came to a conclusion. "Ash, I think your Bayleef and Bulbasaur want to come with you!" Ash looked at his two friends. "Is that true, you guys?" Bayleef and Bulbasaur both nodded vigorously. "Well, okay, if you guys want, you can come with me!" Bayleef and Bulbasaur started happily jumping around. Ash looked at Gary. "Hey, Gary, thanks for the advice, but I really have to be getting home. My mom's probably worrying about me." Gary nodded.

Ash looked at his Bayleef and Bulbasaur. "Hey guys, I'll race you home!" Immediately, Bayleef and Bulbasaur started running. Ash, left in the dust, cried "Awk! Hey guys, can't you slow down a little?" as he laughed and ran down with them.

**Author's Note**

Oh god, Oh god I'm so sorry. This chapter was so bad, it barely had any detail at all and its like 500 words. I'm really sorry guys, I should have done better. However, I guarantee the next chapter's going to be good, and as a result I cut this part off so I wouldn't mix the bad with the good. This chapter was purely to establish that Bayleef and Bulbasaur would accompany Ash. It'll get better soon, I promise.


End file.
